BELLA

Mirrors? I see mirrors. My vision slowly clears. There's a camera in my face. Great. There's some sort of rumble going on. Wait. I know this. The rumble turns into James' ranting. Fantastic. Pain lances through my leg. There's a blur of motion. Edward. Suddenly, James is hovering over me. He grabs my arm. His teeth sink into my skin.

I wake up screaming and clutching my arm. Charlie barrels into my room and starts looking around for whatever may be there. I gasp for a moment while he comes to understand that there is no physical threat.

"Sorry, nightmare," I manage to get out.

"Want to talk about it?" His eyes show concern, but the rest of his face looks very uncomfortable.

"No, I can't even really remember it," I mumble, looking at the floor.

"Okay…well…I'm here if you need me." He looks at me once more before heading back to his room. Thankfully, he closes my door on his way out.

I feel something on my arm, but there is a more pressing issue. The window. Edward used to watch me sleep. He never really told me when he started doing that the first time around. I get up to test the window. It slides easily. Damn. What did he see? What did I say? My blood runs cold. I close the curtains. Tomorrow I will get something to keep my window closed with. Something that will make it impossible to have a visitor and not know about it is in order.

I go and sit on my bed, feeling a little calmer. Using my back to shield me from the window, I look at my arm. There it is. The scar from that awful day is right there. Has that been there this whole time? I lightly trace it with a finger before tucking myself back into bed. I have no idea what is going on. However, until I have evidence that tells me otherwise, I will assume that this is my chance to do the part of my life with the Cullens over.

But this time we do things my way.

Morning comes too quickly. The rest of my night was rough at best. I know that I talk in my sleep. What did I say as I dreamed of James' cruelty? Would it even make sense to someone else? Can Edward even piece any of it together? Was I painfully obvious about what happened?

My head aches from my interrupted sleep as well as the questions that keep spinning around. Questions that I simply can't answer, no matter how much I wish I can. Edward was in my room. That is a fact. I can assume that he saw me while I had that nightmare. However there is something in my favor. He does not know that I know about his stalker tendencies. At least I have that.

For the first time in a long time, I have to think about what I wear. Due to the placement of the bite, I may have to be creative with how I hide it. Because James bit and then Edward bit the same spot to suck out the venom, the scar is visible even to humans. I think that I can see both sets of teeth, but that may just be my imagination. I'm not ready for all the questions that accompany having a scar like this. Seems that both the Cullen family and I are grateful for the generally overcast and dreary weather in Forks. We all have something to hide from view, after all. I'm having too much fun messing with Edward to have any of them see the scar unless I have to.

Somehow I manage to make it to my truck and then to school without injuring myself or anyone else. There is ice everywhere and it is clearly out to get me. The ability to wear long sleeves almost year round apparently comes at the cost of slipping all over the place. After I carefully park my truck, I use it to steady me a moment. Something catches my eye when I reach the back tire. Charlie put snow chains on my tires. That makes me a little more emotional than I thought it would. Wait. Snow chains…Tyler…the accident!

I remember it too late to avoid it. Stupid nightmare threw off my concentration this morning! The screeching starts. Why couldn't I just remember to park somewhere else? I see the van coming right at me, but I can't move. Why can't I move?! It's like I can feel the adrenaline pushing through my body, but still remain motionless. I know what is happening. So, why can't I do something? I look up and the motion makes me slip. Damn you gravity and ice! I faintly feel the back of my head come in contact with my truck. Shouldn't that hurt more? Stars fill my vision to where I can barely make out Edward moving towards me. Damn vampire! Why can't you just leave me alone?!

My hand flies up on instinct alone. I'm not sure if I am trying to block the van or Edward. Like either could happen. Things slow down. The van continues to crawl towards me. Poor Tyler looks terrified. Join the club. Edward is moving at a human pace. Annoying jackass. A blue-ish, sparkly fog of sorts cushions the van so that it hits my truck and not me. It also violently forces Edward back to his car. Whoa! Did that come from me?

Time resumes its pace. Aside from what is probably a concussion from hitting my head on my truck, I'm fine. While the group of EMTs and teachers work to get a stretcher to me, I consider what happened. From what I can make out of the flurry around the scene, no one else saw the glittery, blue fog. The rush of adrenaline fades and is quickly replaced by pure panic. Something is obviously wrong with me. Who would even know how to diagnose this?

A wave of calm intrudes. I look up and find Jasper in the crowd. He looks really worried. No. I will not tolerate any of their interference in my life. Narrowing my eyes, I mentally shove the wave away from me as hard as I can manage. Jasper has to take a couple of steps back when it flies from me to him again, like he was physically impacted by it. The look of shock on his face does far more to calm me than his active attempt to. Internally, I slam the door to my feelings. Confusion clouds his eyes.

A stretcher comes through the crowd. The back of my head is throbbing, but I am managing to stand okay. This time I don't put up a fuss with getting on the stupid thing. However, I flatly refuse the damn collar and manage to win. There is talk of x-rays and scans. Edward's face swoops in despite my scowling at him.

"I'll ride with you to the hospital." He gives me his most dazzling smile and once again it only makes me angrier.

"Why? We aren't friends." Clearly my response is not what he was expecting as he stops moving with the stretcher. Charlie shows up then. He looks a little small when he recognizes me getting loaded up into the ambulance.

"It's okay dad. I'm fine." I try to reassure him.

"No, it's not fine. You're on a stretcher, Bells." His hand traces the side of my face like he has to check to make sure I am alive at all.

"I just hit my head. The doctor will tell you it's nothing." I know he won't calm down until a doctor actually does tell him I am fine, but I have to try.

"Let's just get you to the hospital and find out for sure." He is more gruff than usual as he turns and heads back to his cruiser. It was worth a try.

Again I get a police escort to the hospital. I am not annoyed or embarrassed this time because I realize that Charlie is just trying to take care of me in his own way. Time to focus on the other father figure I had in my life. I really thought that Carlisle loved me like a daughter…until he just left.

Surprisingly, I am ushered into a private room instead of the emergency room. Edward must have already talked to Carlisle about me. This should be interesting. It could even be fun, provided I can stick with my plan. A nurse shoos Charlie out of the room. Guess that means the good doctor is on his way. Quickly, I pull my memories up to the surface of my mind so that I don't slip up when I see him.

"So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling?" He sounds friendly and gentle. Yeah, Edward has already prepared him for my hostility.

"I want a different doctor," I practically hiss. I glare at him.

"What?" Carlisle seems genuinely confused.

"I know you heard me." I maintain my cold demeanor.

"Now, Isabella…" He is going to try his fatherly tone. That would have worked before. But it does not work on me now.

"It's Bella. Don't patronize me, Dr. Cullen. I know what you are." Keep eye contact and let him know you mean it.

"I'm not sure what you mean." He hedges, but the mask is slipping. Good. Keep going, Bella. Give him a little something to wonder and worry about.

"I've already had a…experience," I say as I pull up my sleeve. "And I am not going to repeat it." The moment Carlisle sees my scar, he freezes. His eyes flicker to mine. There is worry and horror there. I pull my sleeve back down.

"Bella…" He whispers so low that I don't know if he even knows he said anything.

"One more, tiny thing before you go. No member of your family is welcome in my house, let alone my room. That is especially true for Edward. If he comes back, I will not be held responsible for my actions." I inform him.

Carlisle takes a step towards me. There is that oddly comforting flow of power through my body. I cross my arms and send it towards the doctor. His surprise rivals his sons' as my glittery blue cloud forces him towards the door.